As an in-person fitness trainer, I have a little trouble distinguishing if smartwatches are trying to take my job or make my job easier. I come to the conclusion that nothing beats an in-person experience. If I can use the watch’s data to help monitor clients and drive progress, then this is an optimal and successful experience. After trying the Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS Smartwatch, I can confidently say that it provides the most useful data and accurately tracks steps, GPS, heart rate, sleep, and other useful metrics.
The Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS Smartwatch is a great entry-level fitness tracker packed with tools that will help optimize workouts. This is a small-yet-powerful running watch that is equipped to make anyone enjoy their active lifestyle even more.
Initial impression of the Garmin Forerunner 55 Smartwatch
The watch fit comfortably on my wrist and was small enough that it was hardly noticeable. The watch face was compact and not too overbearing for smaller wrists. Although, it is big enough to read the details on the screen and navigate the home screen easily. This was a relief since a lot of smartwatches can be clunky. The fact that I hardly noticed that I was wearing a watch is a big win.
Navigating the functions of the watch requires one to use the five buttons on the side. This can take a little getting used to, especially if someone is transitioning from a touchscreen watch. There may be a learning curve navigating the buttons. Although, it makes sense to use buttons instead of touch screen if you sweat a lot or use the watch in the rain. The battery life is amazing and can last two weeks if you don’t activate the GPS function.
Also, the watch is sleek, comfortable, and easy to navigate. I also like that you can customize what you want the front of your watch to look like and choose which stats you want to see when taking a quick glance at the watch.
Helpful GPS function
The Garmin Forerunner 55 is accurate and comes packed with tons of features — many features previously only found on more expensive watches. The features that I use the most include the GPS distance and pace tracking, workout recommendations, body battery, sleep, and heart rate data.
The GPS is very accurate and does a great job in figuring out your pace. This can be used to make workout recommendations. GPS is also important for safety reasons. If an incident has occurred, then your location can be sent to your contacts. Just note that the battery life won’t last as long if you use GPS often.
Workout Suggestions
The daily workout suggestion is a great new feature that can be very useful for beginner runners. It can teach someone how to properly structure a running week. When going to log an activity on the watch, a workout suggestion will pop up on the watch that is based on that person’s training status. Based on the status, it will come up with suggestions including a pace and distance. It is also useful for trainers like myself because you can suggest that clients follow the suggestion on their watch during off days from the weight room.
More key features
Beyond the running features, the Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS Smartwatch also tracks sleep, heart rate, and steps. The watch’s data will feed into the Garmin Connect app where you can see graphs and trends over weeks, months, and even years to visualize your progress. It’s very easy to navigate the app and it organizes the data in a user-friendly way. I also like this from a trainer’s perspective because you can look at areas where the client has excelled and what they need to focus on to achieve their goals.
The Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS Smartwatch is an affordable sports watch that is compact and comfortable all while having an abundance of features. This is useful for beginner runners and more experienced runners alike.
